CARACAS (Reuters) - Gunmen shot and killed two local leaders of parties backing presidential challenger Henrique Capriles on Saturday in the worst violence of a volatile campaign before Venezuela's election next weekend.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves at supporters during a campaign rally in Guarenas in the state of Miranda September 29, 2012. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Capriles' party, Primero Justicia (First Justice), said the gunmen fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to state oil company PDVSA or the local mayor's office during a rally in the agricultural state of Barinas.

The government of President Hugo Chavez, who is seeking re-election, confirmed the deaths and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami said the circumstances of the attack were still under investigation.

Venezuela is awash with guns, and violent crime is frequently cited as voters' No. 1 concern.

There had been shootings and fistfights in previous opposition rallies as "Chavistas" and Capriles supporters clashed, but no deaths.

"This tragedy gives us more strength and faith to fight for a Venezuela where justice and non-violence reign," said Primero Justicia, the party of one of the victims.

Another two people were injured, and there were six arrests after the attack on an opposition motorcade that had been blocked by Chavez supporters, Primero Justicia said in an account not confirmed by police or other authorities.

"I'm so sad at this bad news," Capriles said via Twitter. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition, which has united Venezuela's opposition parties, demanded a quick investigation.

Aissami said police were doing just that. "It was an isolated incident," he told state TV.

CLOSE CAMPAIGN

On the campaign trail, Chavez showed off new infrastructure projects in Caracas, while Capriles accused him of wasting Venezuela's money on foreign allies.

With polls inconclusive, both men are wooing undecided voters in what looks likely to be the tightest presidential election of the charismatic socialist leader's 14-year rule.

Despite two bouts of cancer since mid-2011, Chavez, 58, has declared himself completely cured and is trying to recapture some of his old panache and energy to win a new six-year term.

On Saturday, he inaugurated a monorail, then inspected extensions to the subway system, and a cable car in poor areas of Caracas typical of his power base.

The projects cost a combined $2.5 billion.

"We are not thinking about making money. That's the difference with capitalism," Chavez said in Petare, one of the largest slums in Latin America.

"The loser will have to go to the moon and see if he can govern a rock there because here the bourgeoisie are never coming back," Chavez quipped of Capriles, whom he portrays as representing a heartless, right-wing elite.

Later, in Guarenas town outside Caracas, the president drove through crowds in an open vehicle dubbed by some the "Chavez-mobile." He sang, danced and gave an exuberant speech in a show of energy few would have expected just months ago when he was publicly praying to be saved from cancer.

Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor who has a centrist political vision and sees Brazil's mix of free-market economics and strong welfare polices as his model, has been crisscrossing Venezuela all year in an exhausting campaign.

Addressing thousands in Falcon state, in west Venezuela, Capriles accused Chavez of making false promises to the public, while squandering oil revenues on foreign allies.

"The government prefers to build a refinery in Nicaragua, or send oil and worry about power cuts in Cuba, but it doesn't care about blackouts here in Falcon," he said.

Of the six or so best-known pollsters in Venezuela, a majority put Chavez ahead, but they also show Capriles creeping up in recent weeks, and two put him just ahead.

Venezuelans are transfixed by the race, but also nervous of possible violence if the result is close and disputed.

Foreign investors hope the more business-friendly Capriles will take over and end a nationalization drive and other radical policies that have polarized Venezuela like never before and made Chavez one of the world's most controversial leaders.

Chavez promises to "deepen" socialism if he wins. That will likely mean continued spending on his popular welfare "missions," new confrontations with the private sector, and more support for his leftist allies in the region.

Opposition leaders are angry at Chavez's use of state resources in his campaign, but say the electronic-based vote system should be hard to rig on election day, since they will have their own observers at most voting booths.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Gunmen shot and killed two local leaders of parties backing presidential challenger Henrique Capriles on Saturday in the worst violence of a volatile campaign before Venezuela's election next weekend, the opposition said.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves at supporters during a campaign rally in Guarenas in the state of Miranda September 29, 2012. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Capriles' party, Primero Justicia (First Justice), said the gunmen fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to state oil company PDVSA or the local mayor's office during a rally in the agricultural state of Barinas.

The government of President Hugo Chavez, who is seeking re-election, confirmed the deaths and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami said the circumstances of the attack were still under investigation.

Venezuela is awash with guns, and violent crime is frequently cited as voters' No. 1 concern.

There had been shootings and fistfights in previous opposition rallies as "Chavistas" and Capriles' supporters clashed, but no deaths.

"This tragedy gives us more strength and faith to fight for a Venezuela where justice and non-violence reign," Primero Justicia said in a statement. One of the victims was from its party and another from Accion Democratica (Democratic Action).

Another two people were injured, and there were six arrests after the attack on an opposition motorcade that had been blocked by Chavez supporters, Primero Justicia said in an account not confirmed by police or other authorities.

On the campaign trail, Chavez showed off new infrastructure projects in Caracas, while Capriles accused him of wasting Venezuela's money on foreign allies.

CLOSE CAMPAIGN

With polls inconclusive, both men are wooing undecided voters in what looks likely to be the tightest presidential election of the charismatic socialist leader's 14-year rule.

Despite two bouts of cancer since mid-2011, Chavez, 58, has declared himself completely cured and is trying to recapture some of his old panache and energy to win a new six-year term.

On Saturday, he inaugurated a monorail, then inspected extensions to the subway system, and a cable car in poor areas of Caracas typical of his power base.

The projects cost a combined 1.5 billion pounds.

"We are not thinking about making money. That's the difference with capitalism," Chavez said in Petare, one of the largest slums in Latin America.

"The loser will have to go to the moon and see if he can govern a rock there because here the bourgeoisie are never coming back," Chavez quipped of Capriles, whom he portrays as representing a heartless, right-wing elite.

Later, in Guarenas town outside Caracas, the president drove through crowds in an open vehicle dubbed by some the "Chavez-mobile." He sang, danced and gave an exuberant speech in a show of energy few would have expected just months ago when he was publicly praying to be saved from cancer.

Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor who has a centrist political vision and sees Brazil's mix of free-market economics and strong welfare polices as his model, has been crisscrossing Venezuela all year in an exhausting campaign.

Addressing thousands in Falcon state, in west Venezuela, Capriles accused Chavez of making false promises to the public, while squandering oil revenues on foreign allies.

"The government prefers to build a refinery in Nicaragua, or send oil and worry about power cuts in Cuba, but it doesn't care about blackouts here in Falcon," he said.

Of the six or so best-known pollsters in Venezuela, a majority put Chavez ahead, but they also show Capriles creeping up in recent weeks, and two put him just ahead.

Venezuelans are transfixed by the race, but also nervous of possible violence if the result is close and disputed.

Foreign investors hope the more business-friendly Capriles will take over and end a nationalization drive and other radical policies that have polarized Venezuela like never before and made Chavez one of the world's most controversial leaders.

Chavez promises to "deepen" socialism if he wins. That will likely mean continued spending on his popular welfare "missions," new confrontations with the private sector, and more support for his leftist allies in the region.

Opposition leaders are angry at Chavez's use of state resources in his campaign, but say the electronic-based vote system should be hard to rig on election day, since they will have their own observers at most voting booths.

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez showed off new infrastructure projects on Saturday, while opposition candidate Henrique Capriles accused him of wasting Venezuela's money on foreign allies in frenetic campaigning before the October 7 election.

Venezuela's President and Presidential candidate Hugo Chavez waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Guarenas in the state of Miranda September 29, 2012. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

With opinion polls inconclusive, both men are wooing undecided voters in what looks likely to be the closest presidential election of the charismatic socialist leader's 14-year rule.

Despite two bouts of cancer since mid-2011, Chavez, 58, has declared himself completely cured and is trying to recapture some of his old panache and energy on the campaign trail to win a new six-year term in the South American OPEC member.

On Saturday, he inaugurated a monorail, then inspected extensions to the subway system and a cable car in poor areas of Caracas typical of his power-base.

The projects cost a combined $2.5 billion.

"When a government like ours invests hundreds of millions of dollars, we are not thinking about making money. That's the difference with capitalism," Chavez said in Petare, one of the largest slums in Latin America.

"The loser will have to go to the moon and see if he can govern a rock there because here the bourgeoisie are never coming back," Chavez quipped of Capriles, whom he portrays as representing a heartless, right-wing elite.

Later, in Guarenas town outside Caracas, the president drove through crowds in an open vehicle dubbed by some the "Chavez-mobile." He sang, danced and gave an exuberant speech in a show of energy few would have expected just months ago when he was publicly praying to be saved from cancer.

Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor who has a centrist political vision and sees Brazil's mix of free-market economics and strong welfare polices as his model, has been crisscrossing Venezuela all year in an exhausting campaign.

VENEZUELANS FEAR POST-VOTE TROUBLE

Addressing thousands in Falcon state, in west Venezuela, Capriles accused Chavez of defrauding the population with false promises while squandering the nation's oil revenues on political allies abroad.

"The government prefers to build a refinery in Nicaragua, or send oil and worry about power cuts in Cuba, but it doesn't care about blackouts here in Falcon," he said.

"Why does that happen? The rulers of today are only interested in themselves, and their pockets. I ask the people of Falcon, 'What has the revolution done in this state?'" added Capriles, to cries of "Nothing" from his supporters.

In a campaign tactic he has been using in each state he visits, the opposition leader read a list of what he said were unfulfilled government infrastructure promises for Falcon.

Of the half-dozen or so best-known pollsters in Venezuela, a majority put Chavez ahead, but they also show Capriles creeping up in recent weeks, and two put him just ahead.

Venezuelans are transfixed by the race, but also nervous of possible violence if the result is close and disputed.

Foreign investors hope the more business-friendly Capriles will take over and end a nationalization drive and other radical policies that have polarized Venezuela like never before and made Chavez one of the world's most controversial leaders.

Venezuela's widely traded debt has risen as Capriles' poll numbers inched up. The price of its popular Global 2027 bond climbed by more than 3.5 percent in the past week.

Chavez promises to "deepen" socialism if he wins. That will likely mean continued spending on his popular welfare "missions," new confrontations with the private sector, and more support for his leftist allies in the region.

Opposition leaders are angry at Chavez's use of state resources in his campaign, but say the electronic-based vote system should be hard to rig on voting day, since they will have their own observers at most voting booths.

SAN FRANCISCO: A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a lower court should reconsider a sales ban against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 won by Apple in a patent dispute with the South Korean electronics maker.

The injunction was put in place ahead of a month-long trial that pitted iPhone maker Apple Inc against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a closely watched legal battle that ended with a resounding victory for Apple last month on many of its patent violation claims.

However, the jury found that Samsung had not violated the patent that was the basis for the tablet injunction and Samsung argued the sales ban should be lifted. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she could not act because Samsung had already appealed.

In its ruling on Friday, the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington said Koh could now consider the issue.

The decision comes just a month before the South Korean corporation is expected to unveil the second generation of one of its most successful devices, the stylus-equipped Note.

The Galaxy 10.1 is an older model, but the ban still hurts Samsung in the run-up to the pivotal holiday shopping season.

The world's top two smartphone makers are locked in patent disputes in 10 countries as they vie to dominate the lucrative market, which is growing rapidly.

A U.S. jury found during the just-concluded trial that Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages. - Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple IncChief Executive Tim Cook apologized Friday to customers frustrated with glaring errors in its new Maps service and, in an unusual move for the consumer giant, directed them to rival services such as Google Inc's Maps instead.

The rare apology follows Apple's launch of its own mapping service earlier this month, when it began selling the iPhone 5 and rolled out iOS 6, the highly anticipated update to its mobile software platform.

Users complained that the new Maps service - based on Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker TomTom NV's data - contained geographical errors and gaps in information, and that it lacked features that made Google Maps so popular from public transit directions to traffic data and street-view pictures.

"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," Cook said in a letter to customers released on its website, adding that the company "fell short" of its commitment to deliver "the best experience possible to our customers."

Unusually, he suggested that customers download rival mapping services available in Apple's App Store while the company improves the product.

"While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app," he said in the letter.

Apple is typically loathe to tout rival services and the contrite apology by Cook is an indication of how Apple is changing under the chief executive who took over last year from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death. It also took the additional step of prominently displaying the rival services on its Apps Store.

"It is a bit unusual but at the same time, Tim is keeping Apple's commitment to provide the best user experience for customers," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said. "A key reason for Apple's success is keeping customers happy so we think this is a good move."

"People forget that Google Maps started out inferior to Mapquest and Yahoo Maps," he added.

Apple's home-grown Maps feature -- stitched together by acquiring mapping companies and data from many providers including Waze, Intermap, DigitalGlobe and Urban Mapping -- was introduced with much fanfare in June by software chief Scott Forstall. It was billed as one of the key highlights of the updated iOS6 software.

But errors and omissions in the maps service quickly emerged after the software was rolled out, ranging from misplaced buildings and mislabelled cities to duplicated geographical features.

NEW APPLE

The last time Apple faced such widespread criticism was in 2010, when users complained of signal reception issues on the then-new iPhone 4 model.

A defiant Jobs at the time rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases at a rare, 90-minute press conference called to address those complaints.

While Apple fixed the issue, Jobs had apologized to users only after he was specifically asked if he was sorry. He also said the issue was shared by all the major manufacturers, naming rivals Research in Motion , Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> and HTC Corp <2498.TW>.

Cook himself played a key role in convincing Jobs to tackle the negative publicity that arose around that issue, something he was initially reluctant to do, according to his biographer.

"Finally Tim Cook was able to shake him out of his lethargy," Walter Isaacson said in his biography on the late Silicon Valley icon. "He quoted someone as saying that Apple was becoming the new Microsoft, complacent and arrogant. The next day Jobs changed his attitude."

It remains to be seen how fast Apple can fix the mapping glitches. Jobs had been in a similar position when he allowed email synchronization software MobileMe to launch in 2008, to deadly reviews. The mercurial CEO took the group to task for it and replaced the group's head. The service is now folded into the iCloud product.

Mapping is a complex process that takes a lot of resources and years to perfect, said Marcus Thielking, co-founder of Skobbler, maker of the popular GPS Navigation 2 app, built using the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap platform.

"It helps a lot if you have great data to start with," he said, adding that it appears that different database were thrown together in building Apple Maps. "They (Apple) can offer incremental updates and that's what they will do."

Cook said that more than 100 million iOS devices are using the new Apple Maps and that the more people use Maps, the better it will get. He also offered some hints on why the company decided to remove Google Maps.

Apple launched the Google-powered Maps "initially with the first version of iOS" and created a home-grown version of the service as it wanted to provide more features, Cook said.

"As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps," he said in the letter.

Google provides turn-by-turn navigation on Android-based devices but the popular feature was not available for Apple devices. Apple Maps replaced Google Maps in iOS 6 and the Google service is now only available through a browser.

Shares of Apple fell 2 percent to close at $667.10 on Nasdaq. - Reuters

CHICAGO, Illinois - The United States maintained a stranglehold on the 39th Ryder Cup on Saturday, winning the foursomes and sharing the fourballs to leave Europe trailing 10-6 at the end of the day.

That left Davis Love and his men in prime position to retain the trophy they lost agonisingly at Celtic Manor, Wales two years ago.

It left Europe needing to match the record last day comeback set by the US team at Brookline, Massachusetts in 1999 when they won from four down.

Saturday afternoon's fourballs ended with two wins for Europe as darkness fell after the Americans had won the first two on the back of dominating the morning foursomes 3-1.

To retain the cup on Sunday, Jose Maria Olazabal's men need to win eight out of the closing 12 singles, a highly-unlikely scenario given that the Americans have habitually been stronger on the final day.

The Americans need just four and a half points to get past the winning post.

Mission impossible for some, but US crowd-pleaser Bubba Watson said there was still plenty fight left in the European team.

"The team is not going to lay down. Europe is not going to lay down. They are not going to give it to us. We have to play good golf and come out focused and ready to win some points," he said.

The home team took up early Saturday where they left off Friday evening with one hand round the European throats as the star duo of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley once again led the charge.

Their 7 and 6 thumping of former world No.1s Lee Westwood and Luke Donald equalled the highest ever 18-hole winning margin by a Ryder Cup pairing, and the first time such a drubbing had been handed out since 1991.

Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson scored their second straight win for the United States, while Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker turned the tables on Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell who beat them in the first match out on Friday.

Only English pair Ian Poulter and Justin Rose provided some respite for Olazabal with a vicory at the last hole over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.

That left the Americans 8-4 ahead at the end of the morning's play and Olazabal saying his team had to at least carry the afternoon session to have any realistic chance of retaining the trophy on Sunday.

But that never looked likely as once again the hosts dominated from the start of the fourballs.

Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson came home with their second straight win in the format, edging the untested partnership of Nicolas Colsaerts and Paul Lawrie by 1 up.

Watson and Simpson then put their morning reverse behind them to romp away to a 5 and 4 win over Rose and Francesco Molinari.

That put the Americans 10-4 up with two games to go and the dejection was clear to see on the faces of Europe's players, fans and skipper Olazabal.

There was something for them to cheer at last when Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, both pointless through the three first sessions, defeated Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker at the last hole.

It was a third straight defeat for the Woods-Stricker pairing, having been left out of the morning session - the first time that Woods had been benched in a Ryder Cup career dating back to 1997.

And then five straight birdies from the 14th from Poulter, including a clutch 12-footer at the last saw the Englishman and world No.1 McIlroy, playing for the first time without McDowell, overhaul the previously unbeaten Dufner and Johnson for a win that left Europe with a glimmer of a hope.

"It was huge - those last two matches were massive. That keeps us in just with a chance. It's been done before in the past. And tomorrow is going to be a big day," Olazabal said. - AFP

THE expectant crowds had started gathering from as early as 4am, and the chants of "USA, USA, USA" became increasingly loud and frenzied as Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson stepped up on the first teebox.

There's nothing like the Ryder Cup – the palpable electricity in the air, spine-tingling moments and the surge of emotions that seem to be carrying the Americans while, at the same time, affecting the Europeans.

The second day of golf's biggest event began with the US holding a commanding 5-3 lead and looking increasingly like champions.

Pockets of European support, some dressed in their national colours – Irish, Spanish, Union Jack and Scottish – have tried to get their team going. Sporadic chants of 'ole, ole, ole' can be heard around the golf course, but these are ultimately drowned out by joyous whoops whenever an American birdies a hole.

Chicago is the ultimate sports city with football (the American variety) and baseball preeminent, but the natives have taken the Ryder Cup to their hearts.

The loud, raucous and aggressive crowds have become the 13th man for the US team and the record numbers at Medinah Country Club is the ultimate motivation for Tiger Woods and Co.

Horrendous traffic, taking almost two hours to get to the club from downtown Chicago in the mornings and snarling jams in the evenings, have failed to deter golf fans from making a beeline for Medinah's Number Three Course.

"This is golf's biggest event and there's no way I was going to miss it," said Bernie Schreiber, a sports marketing manager who came all the way from Palm Beach, Florida.

Someone from even further away, Lora de Luca from Sao Paulo, Brazil, made the trip because "golf is going to be an Olympic sport in Brazil for the first time in 2016 and I wanted to see for myself first-hand how a large tournament like this is organised".

Even celebrities have got the golf bug – basketball legend Michael Jordan has become the US team's unofficial mascot, and Olympian Michael Phelps and even Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan have been spotted in the crowd.

All the talk on the course has been on the controversial selections of the fourball and foursome match-ups of captains Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Love's inspired pairing of the hyped-up rookie Keegan Bradley with the calm, cool and collected Phil Mickelson seems to be the key move that has inspired the US team.

On the European side, however, Olazabal's decision to leave out his "fighters" Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia for the first day's afternoon match-ups has left European fans scratching their heads.

To be fair to Olazabal he reinstated his inspirational players for yesterday's sessions but the Europeans have to play out of their skins to have any chance of retaining the famous Cup they last won at Celtic Manor in 2010.

Whatever happens, today's singles match-ups are sure to be a mouth-watering prospect for golf fans.

Every Leader is an Artist: How the world's greatest artists can make you a more creative leaderAuthors: Michael O'Malley and William F. BakerPublisher: McGraw-Hill

Every leader, the authors believe, is an artist for the simple fact that in order to lead, one has to be creative. This creativity may take various forms. The authors outline several areas where the leader and the artist overlap in their dealings with the people around them. These include imagination, authenticity and individuality and engagement because both leader and artist have to engage an audience. Communications is another.

Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic: Howmicrolending lost its wayAuthor: Hugh SinclairPublisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

The author is of the view that microfinance, or micro loans, will not help the poor as long as maximising profits is the aim. Exorbitant interest rates, aggressive collection practices can, and has, resulted in child labour, forced prostitution and suicide. He outlines the reforms needed to make it work.

Leaders Make the Future: Ten new leadership skills for an uncertain worldAuthor: Bob JohansenPublisher: Berrett-Koehler

How good are you at turning challenges into opportunities? Author Bob Johansen deals with two new forces that are shaping the future – people 15 years and younger who grew up in a digital world, and the second is cloud-served super-computing, which will enable rich new forms of connection, collaboration and commerce.

His ideas represent a welcome change at a time when this area of economics is hardly mentioned despite development remaining a big challenge today

Evidence-based Development Economics: Essays in Honor of Sanjaya LallAuthors: Carlo Pietrobelli and Rajah RasiahPublisher: University of Malaya Press

DEVELOPMENT economics has seen better times. At its height in the 1960s and 1970s, names like Arthur Lewis, Walt Rostow, Gunnar Myrdal and Albert Hirschman were household names in the economics profession. But while development has remained as big a challenge since, this area of economics is hardly mentioned today.

The recent publication of the book Evidenced-based Development Economics, edited by Carlo Pietrobelli and Rajah Rasiah, therefore represents a welcome change.

This book honours the life and work of Sanjaya Lall, a giant among development economists whose work covers diverse but critical areas of development. The editors classify his work into four areas – the role of multinationals, industrial policies, acquisition of technological capabilities, and the notion of competitiveness.

Each area has been the subject of intense research and intellectual debate. Four essays are written for each area, which, with an introductory chapter on Lall's work, makes a total of 17 chapters in the book.

Within the broad ambit of these areas, contributors dealt with a wide array of topics, ranging from international comparisons to specific case studies, from industrial powerhouses to less-developed nations, and from theory to empirical analysis.

The role of institutions and governance, currently receiving particular emphasis as being critical for economic growth, is evident everywhere in the book. That of the state, an area of intense debate between proponents of neoliberalism and statism, is also on display.

These essays by eminent economists make for a rich discourse on development and have something for everyone interested in the economics of development.

As befitting a book of this kind, the views expressed by the many contributors were largely consistent with those of the honouree himself. These views, according to the editors, were his abhorrence of "the neo-liberal siege of development economics", aversion to the use of mathematics by "mathematical economists who neither had the understanding nor the feel for development economics", and the importance of evidence in the study of development economics.

Thus Ha-Joon Chang wrote of the failure of the international trading system to lift poor nations from the throes of underdevelopment.

The use of mathematics in the chapters has been extremely restrained, consisting mainly of tabulations and charts rather than elaborate mathematical models. And the use of evidence is pervasive; the book itself has the word "evidence" in its title. These views deserve some comment.

The view that neoliberalism is wrong when it comes to development is enjoying great currency after the global financial crisis of 2008 savaged its principal proponents/practitioners. The contest between it and the alternative development paradigm is sometimes seen as one between neoliberal ideologues and those whose arguments are grounded on evidence. In reality, this contrast is nowhere as sharp.

For one thing, ideologues exist in both camps. And the use of evidence is not exclusive to either of them. Indeed the same evidence can be used to defend opposing positions. There is no better example of this than in the now famous volume The East Asian Miracle published by the World Bank in 1993.

The same set of data which underpinned this study was used by neoliberals to support their argument that it was liberalisation reform that produced stellar East Asian growth, and by supporters of government intervention to highlight the role of the state as the real source of growth.

The World Bank itself, in efforts to bridge this divide, took the middle path of espousing market-friendly government intervention using the same data set. Evidence, then, can be all things to all people. Rare indeed is the ideologue who does not support his/her position with a measure of supporting "evidence".

In as much as one has to agree with Lall's view about the excessive reliance of economics on mathematics, with its image of precision in a discipline that is anything but – it was reportedly Einstein who remarked that "not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted" – that does not mean mathematics has no place in the field of development economics.

Economists from Robert Solow onwards have made major contributions to explaining economic growth through mathematical growth models. And even Schumpeter's evolutionary growth theory, about which Nelson wrote in this volume, has its mathematical manifestation.

We should also remember that it was Stiglitz's highly mathematical work on information asymmetry that led him to doubt the existence of the invisible hand and his belief that there is a proactive role for the state in development. It makes no sense to throw out the baby with the bath water.

What really matters, then, is the judicious use of qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyse the challenges of development. This area of economics is certainly big enough to require all available analytical tools to be used.

One would hope that readers of this volume, which is sympathetic to the approach that Lall himself preferred, do not come away with a binary view of how development should be viewed.

KUANTAN: A form five student was killed when the motorcycle he was riding, collided head-on with a lorry at the 17km Jalan Baru Bentong-Raub early Saturday.

Mohamad Zaidi Ahmad, 17, who sustained head injuries in the 6.44am crash, died on the way to the Bentong Hospital. His friend, Mohd Hafifi Jamaludin, 17, who was riding pillion, and the lorry driver, M. Murugiah, 61, sustained head and body injuries.

NEW YORK: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad received the 2012 Rafik Hariri United Nations (UN) - Habitat Memorial Award at a ceremony held at the New York Public Library here Friday night.

The award was presented by Hariri's widow, Nazek Rafk Hariri, who is also Rafik Hariri Foundation president.

Dr Mahathir 87, was named winner of the award in June, by the award's steering committee in recognition of his leadership, statesmanship and good governance.

The award, named after the now-deceased prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, was established by the Hariri family, jointly with the UN-Habitat through the Rafik Hariri Foundation since March 2009.

It is given to individuals, organisations or institutions worldwide for significant accomplishments in the areas of leadership, statesmanship and good governance, construction and reconstruction of settlements and communities, human resource development, and benevolent activities in fighting urban poverty and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

LOS ANGELES: Spiderman creator Stan Lee, whose Marvel comic book heroes have dominated US culture for more than half a century, has been fitted with a heart pacemaker at the age of 89, he announced Friday.

In a typically colorful statement, Lee - whose characters include the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, who teamed up in this year's big screen blockbuster "The Avengers" - said he plans to live for another 90 years.

"This is a dispatch sent from your beloved Generalissimo, directly from the center of Hollywood's combat zone!" he said in the statement, reporting that he was recovering after having the device fitted last week.

"Now hear this! Your leader hath not deserted thee! I have had an electronic pacemaker placed near my heart to ensure that I'll be able to lead thee for another 90 years," he added through his Pow! Entertainment company.

Lee's fertile imagination has also spawned such superheroes as "The Fantastic Four," and the "X-Men," all creations and franchises belonging to Marvel Comics. - AFP

NEW YORK: Director Ang Lee says he broke every rule in "Life of Pi," which premiered Friday, bringing the best-selling novel into stunning 3D life with a production featuring an unknown Indian actor, four tigers and the world's biggest wave machine.

"There are a few classic advices in movies: never make a movie featuring animals, kids, water or 3D," the Taiwanese-born American director quipped at the premiere, which was the opening screening of the New York Film Festival in Manhattan. "We ignored all (of them)."

The filmmaker, who won Oscars for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," had to pull out all the stops to get Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name on screen.

The story, centered around a shipwrecked Indian boy called Pi who survives in a life raft with a Bengal tiger, posed obvious casting difficulties. The overriding theme of the search for God was also not standard Hollywood fare.

"I remember thinking to myself that no one in their right mind... How do you sell this thing?" Lee recalled.

His first solution came in the guise of Suraj Sharma, a hitherto unknown 17-year-old from Delhi who tagged along with his brother to the audition, then found himself being picked out of 3,000 others.

"It was my brother. He had to go to the audition and I went with him," Sharma said at the premiere.

For the movie's other key ingredients, Lee cast his net even wider, creating a Hollywood-financed, but international production that sounds almost as fantastical as the story itself.

The first part of the film was filmed on location in Pondicherry, India, the picturesque former French colony where some 5,500 extras were hired for the sumptuous scenes of Indian street life and religious ceremonies.

Then, because the entire second half of the two-hour movie takes place at sea, Lee went to Taichung in his native Taiwan to film in a specially designed wave-generating tank that measures 230 by 100 feet (70 by 30 meters) and contains 1.7 million gallons (6.4 million liters) of water. "We created our own Hollywood," Lee said.

The results are spectacular scenes that lend themselves especially well to the 3D experience, with flying fish shooting out of the screen, and surrealist trips by the camera into a deep populated by luminous jellyfish and whales.

Having secured his human star and a number of backups, including a rude French cook played by Gerard Depardieu, Lee needed only to fill the main supporting role: the tiger.

The animal, who goes by the name Richard Parker, is mostly the creation of CG special effects. But the all-important physical references that provide a base for the wizardry were provided by four real tigers.

Animal trainer Thierry Le Portier, a veteran of big cat scenes in "Gladiator," found three of the animals in France and one in Canada.

According to Lee, a big male named King was the main model for Richard Parker, while two females, also from France, were used to model the movie tiger's more aggressive movements.

The "more docile" episodes, such as when Richard Parker is seasick, were modeled on the unusually cuddly Canadian tiger, Lee said.

Sharma, playing Pi, said the water tank in Taiwan "began to feel like my home" and that his research into being a castaway included consulting with shipwreck survivor and author of "Adrift," Steve Callahan.

But his portrayal of the intimate connection between his scared character and the hungry tiger was all acted in front an invisible beast.

"The boat was pretty empty," he laughed. "There was no tiger."

Early reviews described the film as Oscar potential thanks to its beauty and artistic use of 3D.

"Summoning the most advanced digital filmmaking technology to deliver the most old-fashioned kind of audience satisfaction," Variety said.

But there were thumbs down over what some critics saw as the story's over-earnestness. "Torpid, preachy, faux high-minded and 'prestigious,'" said the Village Voice. - AFP

Soroptimist International Club of Bangsar is holding comprehensive health screening and talks from 8am to 4pm at Life Care Diagnostic Centre in Bangsar Suria South tomorrow. Participants can learn more on menopause, cervix and breast cancer. Admission is free, For details, call 03-2282 1832 (Lieza) or) 012-283 0959 (Doris Lim) or email matrixid@unifi.my

LANTERN FESTIVAL

In conjunction with the mooncake festival, the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council and Chempaka Buddhist Lodge are organising the Petaling Jaya Lantern Festival 2012 today from 2pm to 11pm. Various interesting activities have been lined up for the event, including a lantern-making competition themed 'Go Green', whereby participants are encouraged to use recycled items for their lanterns. For details, call Chempaka Buddhist Lodge at 03-7780 3936.

MEDITATION CLASS

DDM Buddhist Information Centre in Petaling Jaya is presenting a beginner's meditation class on Oct 13 and 20 (two-day session) to help the mind focus and stay calm with Ch'an meditation. For details, call 03-7960 0841 or email ddmmalaysia@ gmail.com.

MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE

The King of the Mountain bicycle race will be flagged off at Dewan Merdeka in Kuala Kubu Baru in Hulu Selangor at 8am tomorrow. The cyclists will start their journey in Kuala Kubu Baru town and finish at Fraser's Hill. Cycling enthusiasts are encouraged to give moral support.

FAMILY TIME

A Family Walk Hunt will be held at Taman Tasik Permaisuri, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow from 9.30am to 11.30am. It is open to families with young children. The profits will go towards charitable causes in Malaysia. For details, call 03-2141 7575 (Sangeet).

HEALTH CAMP

A free health camp in conjunction with World Heart Day 2012 will be held in Subang Jaya today from 8am to 2pm. There will be free health tests including glucose and cholesterol tests, eye test and other tests.

CHARITY BARBECUE

Rumah Raudhatul Al Faeez is holding a charity barbeque and picnic at Sungai Alang Sendayu, Gombak on Oct 7 from 8am to 12pm. It is to raise funds for the home through donations. Admission fee of RM20 per person. For details, call 012-319 4964 (Syafiq).

SELANGOR are eager to regain the prestigious Sultan of Selangor's Cup when they meet the S-League Selection at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight.

The Red Giants have not won the trophy since 2008. But Selangor coach Irfan Bakti said they were looking forward to turn the tables on their rivals this year.

"We have to stop the S-League Selection's winning streak. We are expecting a close match but we are well prepared to take them on,'' said Irfan after a friendly match against Setia Murni, a Division One outfit in the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) league.

The match provided Irfan a chance to look at guest players — Helmi Loussaief and Nicoise Josep from PKNS FC in action. Both Helmi and Nicoise as well as international Safee Sali, who is playing in the Indonesian League, have been invited to beef up the Selangor strikeforce.

Irfan was impressed with both Helmi and Nicoise but praised the former for his swift attacking style.

"The presence of the trio has given me more options. We also have the Selangor players who are playing well in the Malaysia Cup to look at. In fact, I have advised the Selangor players to forget about the Malaysia Cup until this match is over. I would like to see them give their best,'' said Irfan.

A crowd of about 70,000 is expected for the match. And Irfan believes the atmosphere would spur his players to rise to the occasion.

The organising committee, headed by Datuk Abdul Karim Munisar, have lined a series of activities to make the event a memorable one for the fans.

Popular local artistes Ziana Zain and Awie have been invited to perform before the match between the Selangor veterans and their Singapore counterparts. Both Ziana and Awie will sing several of their popular songs.

The match between the veterans will kick off at 8pm. National coach Datuk K. Rajagopal, who last played for Selangor five years ago, will return to combine with the likes of Zainal Abidin Hassan, Dollah Salleh, Azlan Johar, P. Dharmalingam, Yap Kam Choon, K. Gunasekaran, Rashid Hassan, Reduan Abdullah and P. Somasundaram.

Pint-sized Malek Awab will lead the Singapore side which includes V. Sundram Moorthy, D. Tokijan, Yahya Madon and Tay Peng Kee. Last year, Selangor won the match 1-0.

Rajagopal said he was looking forward to meet his old friends and foes.

"It is always good to meet them in a friendly sporting environment,'' added Rajagopal.

Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah initiated the competition in 2001 to foster better relations between Selangor and Singapore. It was then known as the Regent of Selangor Cup. With the coronation of the Sultan in 2003, the competition was renamed as the Sultan of Selangor's Cup.

About 500 students from Selangor will organise a formation during the opening ceremony.

RAUB: The project to deepen Kuantan Port will benefit the state in the long run and increase transshipment business, Pahang Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Datuk Seri Lam Kam Sang said.

Lam said construction work would commence soon and expected to be completed by 2015.

"Once completed, it would help to reduce cost of transshipment and cut down travelling time by half.

"Presently, consignments shipped to China from Port Klang would take approximately six days.

"However, if we use Kuantan Port, it would be able to reach in about three days making the port more competitive," he said, adding that it would help to boost business for the port especially in transporting perishable products such as agriculture and agro-based industries goods.

Lam said talks were also being held with the relevant authorities to initiate direct flights from Kuantan to China.

He said China was the next economic power and would set to make a strong impact internationally.

"I was informed that China is starting a huge steel production plant over the next few years.

"Since Pahang is one of the biggest iron ore producers, we can export our commodity and reap in good profits," he said, adding that with the upgrading of Kuantan Port, it would help to bring in more business and revenue.

Lam said he would also be visiting China to hold talks with potential investors and wealthy businessmen in two major cities.

"Our target is to entice them to invest in the state and country by explaining to them the vast opportunities available.

"Hopefully, we can assist the state government in securing RM30bil in investments by 2020 as announced by Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob after chairing the state economic advisory council meeting recently," he said.

Lam said they would also organise a dialogue with Adnan to bring up problems and other pressing issues faced by businessmen and traders so that measures could be initiated to improve the situation.

MALACCA: Hollywood eminent movie screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, 74, was in Malacca for a tour of the historic city, recently.

Gottlieb made a short trip following his visit to the country as guest-of-honour for a talk show that was organised with the aim of consolidating various media of practitioners to become competitive in the film industry and also coach budding writers on screen writing skills.

Armed with more than 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Gottlieb was also the scriptwriter for the popular film Jaws and also took roles as movie director and actor for several box-office movies.

He also authored two best-selling books namely Long Time Gone, The Jaws Log and just completed his latest, The Little Blue Book for Filmmakers.

"Film making is story telling, and Hollywood has been telling stories to the world for 100 years. My latest book is a basic text book for those interested in taking up film-making as a career," said Gottlieb.

Senior official from Creative Content Industry Guild, Datuk Shariff Ahmad who accompanied Gottlieb during his trip here said that the screenwriter is also the Secretary Treasurer of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a body that represents all writers for film and television industry in that country.

"We are proud to work together with a person of such vast experience which has given them some insight to enhance the local film industry," he added.